


plus one.

by ruzekhalstead



Series: halstead & upton mini-fics. [2]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, One Chicago (Chicago Franchise), Upstead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26274334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruzekhalstead/pseuds/ruzekhalstead
Summary: "i mean, he’s clearly a dumbass if he invited you and just ‘forgot’ about your temper.”“kiss my ass, ruzek. he wont hear a peep out of me. i’ll be the perfect guest.”-prompt: hailey is invited to her exes wedding and there is no way in hell she is showing up solo. luckily, jay is eager to show off how successful he's become. unfortunately, hailey spitefully tells everyone he is her boyfriend, so there's that.(alternate universe/fake relationship bc i'm a sucker for these)
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton, Kim Burgess & Adam Ruzek, Kim Burgess/Adam Ruzek
Series: halstead & upton mini-fics. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914352
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

hailey rolls her eyes so hard, they nearly fall out of their sockets.

she is used to his condescending and childish behaviour. she would like to think he was better than that, since their relationship in high school included some of her fondest memories, but she knows better. their relationship had been exciting and exhilarating at the time, but towards the end, she wasn’t feeling anything. it lacked the emotional depth she was searching for and made her feel like a terrible person to drag him along. unfortunately, he didn’t understand that and when she tried to break things off, he made it seem like she was the awful one for trying to spare his feelings. 

things were said, and actions were taken, and they all led to this moment in time. 

luke edwards’s wedding invitation. 

as if on cue, her office phone starts to ring.

“hailey upton speaking.”

“good morning hailey upton! how are you feeling on this particular day? get anything interesting in the mail?”

hailey rolls her eyes at kim’s chipper tone. “if by interesting you mean, absolutely neurotic, then yes, i did.”

“now, now, hailey. as a psychiatrist, you probably shouldn’t be using such terms,” kim giggles. “are we still meeting up later for dinner? i’m sure jay and adam have a lot to say about this too.”

hailey sighs, quickly browsing through her calendar. “yeah, i’ll be there.”

“great! see you soon, love you!”

she runs a hand through her blonde locks, flipping past the invitation to the card meant to be sent back. as if getting an invitation to an ex-boyfriend’s wedding isn’t bad enough, there’s also an option for a plus-one.

hailey groans loudly, her head falling down onto her desk.

* * *

hailey loves her job, there was no question about it. she loves being able to use her expertise every day to help people but the least glamorous part is having to dress in heels every single day. it’s great within the first hour, but nine hours later, she’s about ready to throw them in the trash.

by the time she gets to the restaurant, kim, adam and jay are already there, waiting for her. she used to be a stickler for punctuality but since securing a job that demands so much of her attention at odd hours of the day, she’s more often than not late. her friends job’s aren’t much better time-wise; kim is a teacher, adam an architect and jay a lawyer. 

hailey’s heart stutters when she sees jay in his crispy, white dress shirt and slacks. he’s come along from his fashion style in college which consisted of tight t-shirts and ripped jeans (not that she was ever complaining). as she’s busy ogling her best friend, kim pokes her head through hailey’s line of vision, shooting her an all-knowing look. 

hailey mutters some profanities under her breath, and hastily makes her way over to their booth. “sorry i’m late!” she exclaims, flinching when she smashes her foot off the table, trying to squirm into the tall booth in her tight pencil skirt. “traffic was ridiculous.”

kim roll her eyes from the seat next to her. “i cannot believe you made me wait this long. i have been absolutely dying to see your face at knowing you actually got an invitation to this wedding.”

adam’s eyebrows furrow together as he takes a sip from his drink. “what wedding?”

hailey nearly chokes on the bread she’s already eating (it’s been a long day and she’s absolutely starving). “wait. did you not get the invitation this morning?”

“what invitation?” jay asks, his interest piquing in the conversation. “hails, what invitation?” he presses when she starts laughing. 

“hailey and i received invitations to luke’s wedding today,” kim replies, her face unable to hide the pure amusement she was feeling. 

both jay and adam’s faces drop their interest until realization dawns for jay. “wait; do you mean luke as in hailey’s luke?” his eyes are wide as hailey nods, a sour look on her face. “what the fuck, he invited you?”

“it’s fine, guys. he was decent enough to give her a plus one and everything,” kim adds, waggling her eyebrows. she’s honestly having way too much fun with this. 

adam clears his throat, “okay, hold on. i’m still extremely offended i wasn’t invited to this wedding.”

“why?’ jay snorts. it was no secret that jay was never luke’s biggest fan. 

“i would like to think luke and i had somewhat of a bromance,” adam replies, eyeing hailey. “had to make sure he was good enough for my girl hailey, obviously.”

hailey frowns. “well, you did a terrible job at vetting him. he was not.”

adam smirks, “my bad, hails.”

“you can be my plus one,” kim says to adam, as she fills her mouth with bread. “let’s be honest, i won’t have a boyfriend by then and you’ll whine for the rest of my life if you miss the drama that will inevitably go down.”

hailey squeaks in indignation but adam cuts her off with a triumphant smile. “hell yes! sorry hails, but she’s right. i mean, he’s clearly a dumbass if he invited you and just ‘forgot’ about your temper.”

“alright,” hailey mutters, rolling her eyes at her friends antics. “kiss my ass, ruzek. he wont hear a peep out of me. i’ll be the perfect guest.”

kim chokes on her drink and hailey throws a piece of bread at her head. 

“well, shit. there’s no way in hell i can miss this,” he turns to hailey, “can i be your plus one?”

before hailey can reply, adam jumps in with a laugh. “jay, you can’t just invite yourself to a wedding.”

the waitress arrives with their food and hailey smiles happily. it became a general rule that if any of them were more than ten minutes late to dinner, the others would order something on their behalf. this rule became effective when jay and adam’s hunger could not be satiated with simply bread. 

jay rolls his eyes, sending the giddy waitress a friendly smile. “the hell i can’t. i’ll be honest, i never liked the guy. so there’s no way in hell i’m skipping out on a chance to show him how successful i am now.”

“that’s incredibly self-centered jay, but i’ll take it,” hailey laughs, ignoring kim’s pointed looks. “i honestly rather gouge my eyes out than show up solo.”

adam snorts in amusement and asks through a mouthful of pasts, “when’s the wedding?”

“oh, this is the best part,” kim laughs, “the wedding is literally in two weeks. this means he purposely decided to invite us last minute.”

jay raises an eyebrow. “what an idiot. wonder what he’s playing at.”

“i know exactly what he’s playing at,” hailey snaps, stabbing her caesar salad rather violently. “there is absolutely no reason i need to be invited to this wedding. exes are not supposed to be invited to weddings.”

adam shrugs. “i mean, unless he’s trying to show you what you missed out on.”

“i’m sure i can do the same,” hailey scoffs. “is it inappropriate to bring my phd diploma with me?”

kim snorts, adding, “probably, but we can start calling you doctor from now on.”

hailey drops her right eyelid in a wink. “thank you; that is true friendship.”

* * *

the trip back to their hometown of chicago is relatively pleasant. they had all gone to the same high school, where they had met each other but eventually ventured out to various colleges; that was where hailey met luke. after they broke up, she wasn’t sure what he ended up doing with his life, but knew through mutual facebook friends that his fiancee was ridiculously rich and blonde, so this wedding will be nothing less of extravagant. 

the four of them travelled down together the day before the wedding. it was the second weekend of june and so, it didn’t leave them with much time to hang around with their families. they were still able to see them, but the main focus was on the day ahead of them.

hailey likes to think she has matured exponentially from her college days, and while she believes breaking up with luke was for the best, she refuses to be treated any less than she deserves. and with her maturity came the skill of knowing when to be a bitch when necessary. she’s been mentally preparing herself the whole ride up; she doesn’t want to be disrespectful on his wedding day, because contrary to his feelings, she is happy for him and only wishes him the best. however, she isn’t ready for him to walk all over her either. so, she makes sure to pack her most elegant dress that would be sure to catch eyes. she is already going to be the ex girlfriend everyone talks about, so she may as well give them something worthwhile to talk about. 

luke’s wedding was taking place at an extravagant hotel wedding plaza located in the city. the ceremony was happening in the outside garden, while the reception was immediately following within the hotel. it doesn’t take long to get to the hotel and as soon as adam places his car in park, hailey immediately feels like she is going to be sick. 

“oh god,” she mutters, watching as jay opens her car door and holds out a hand to help her out. he is dressed gorgeously in a smart, black crisp suit with a dark tie. she’s glad he didn’t insist on matching the colour of her dress because she thought it was incredibly tacky. he raises his eyebrows, silently asking her why she wasn’t getting out of the car. “i can’t.”

jay stares at her, slightly unsure if she’s just messing with him. but then he sees her biting her lip and nearly ruining her perfect lipstick and he knew this was no joke. “hey, what are you talking about? this will be great, i’m sure of it.”

“really?” she raises an eyebrow. “you aren’t the ex-girlfriend at your exes wedding! jesus, just saying that sounds ridiculous!”

jay glances over and notices adam and kim walking slowly to the front entrance, presumably to give them their space. it isn’t a secret to anyone that hailey and jay have always had a special connection and jay was always able to calm hailey down in situations like this. 

he squats down in front of her and shoots her a small smirk. “are you kidding me, hailey? you have your doctorate. you will literally be the smartest person in that room; absolutely nothing should scare you right now.”

“yes, well it does,” hailey mumbles, avoiding his gaze.

he grabs her hand and pulls. “come on,” he insists, “we’re doing this.”

hailey pales but allows him to pull her up; she knows she has to get this over with at some point and she doesn’t want to make matters worse by arriving late to the ceremony. adam and kim are waiting for them at the door, sending awkward smiles to the guests who keep passing them. 

“well damn, it’s about time!” adam smirks but holds the door open so they can all pile in and follow the clearly marked signs directing them to the outdoor ceremony. “holy shit,” adam finds himself cursing before he even realizes he’s said anything, 

they make their way back outdoors and extravagant isn’t even enough to describe it. the colour scheme is clearly white and pink because pink is everywhere; it’s slightly sickening. there is a beautiful arc where the couple would be getting married, matching chairs and a gorgeous pathway made up of flowers. 

other than that, hailey hates everything. 

“it’s like a cotton candy machine exploded in here,” adam murmurs.

the only thing hailey does appreciate are the multiple servers handing out mimosas and she doesn’t hesitate to grab two (one is for kim).

“oh shit, it’s kevin!” adam grins, pulling jay away and leaving the girls by themselves.

hailey pales. “how could adam forget about the plan already?” she hisses nervously. “they’re not supposed to leave me!”

kim giggles, taking a sip and suppressing a moan at how good it tastes. “relax. the ceremony hasn’t even started, what could possibly go wrong?”

“hailey, is that you?”

hailey doesn’t even have to turn around to recognize that voice and she wants to kill kim. she guesses the crimson of her blood would go beautifully with the white chairs.

she pastes on a fake smile and turns around to see luke, smiling at her. “hey! how are you?”

“living my best life, as you can tell,” he replies snarkily, gesturing to everything around him. “it’s nice to see you. its a good thing they’re serving alcohol already. at least that’ll help you forget you’re at you exes wedding solo.”

how did he not know she was bringing a plus one?

she is slightly taken aback by the forwardness of his words; that took no time at all. kim’s eyes are wide and she can only look on as the horror unfolded. but something inside hailey snaps; she is not going to be treated like this, not by her ex.

“it is nice to see you! what can i say? i’ve always liked my mimosas,” she adds with a fake smile, preparing herself for the next blow. “oh, didn’t you see my response? i’m not here alone.”

the smirk immediately drops from his face.

“i’m here with my boyfriend.”

kim chokes on her drink, her eyes widening even more.

“yeah? and who’s that?” he asks, a jealous glint evident within his eyes.

“he’s right over there,” she smirks, watching as luke turns around to peek. she leans in close, making sure he can see where she’s pointing. “i’m here with jay.”


	2. chapter two

“i’m here with jay.”

the confusion on luke’s face is evident. he’s staring at jay, looking grown up and mature in his suit, but he isn’t understanding. 

“you’re with halstead?” the disapproving tone bleeds through his voice before he can control himself.

kim’s face is purely comical; her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are watery from when she had choked on her drink.

“a lot has changed, luke,” hailey replies wisely and cryptically.

“clearly,” he hisses and she knows the worst isn’t over. “i can’t believe your standards have dropped that low. but then again, i’m sure you don’t have many suitors.”

hailey raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow; she isn’t going to let his words get to her. “and what do you mean by that?”

“i’m sure they all run for the hills after they get what they want,” he eyes her up and down cruelly. “especially once they see all the baggage you come with.”

kim’s frown turns furious and hailey can see her gearing up to retort, until hailey subtly shakes her head. her past is a sensitive topic to her and the fact that he would throw it in her face like that means, this invite was all just a ploy to get back at her. it’s ridiculous and childish and hailey is absolutely done. 

“that’s incredibly creative. is that why you left me? oh wait, that’s not what happened,” she smirks cruelly.

luke laughs bitterly. “you think that phases me? you breaking up with me was the best thing that ever happened to me. i mean, look at me now.”

“yeah, mooching off your rich fiancee,” kim mutters, seemingly unable to help herself. honestly, hailey is surprised it took her that long to interject. “do you even have a job?”

luke’s eyes flicker over to her but he doesn’t pay her much attention. “that’s highly irrelevant.”

“listen, i’m not here to start anything with you. frankly, i don’t even know why i am here,” she sends him a pointed look, “but i am. so congratulations to you and your fiancee, but that’s all i have to say to you.”

luke glares at her. “you’re here because you need to see what you missed out on,” he snaps before thinking.

“that’s so unbelievably childish, luke,” hailey snaps back in the same venomous tone. “i don’t care what i missed out on; i did what was best for the both of us and you know that! you’re happy with someone who isn’t me and i’m happy without you.”

she notes she doesn’t say she is happy with someone else and he latches onto that like a lifeline. “you’re happy without me? is halstead really enough for you? he never was before.”

hailey and jay had always been amazing friends, but that’s all it ever was. luke knew that, so she isn’t sure why he’s using that to emphasize his argument. 

“well things change,” she snaps.

before hailey has the chance to elaborate (the discussion is getting heated and kim is watching on anxiously), the guys make their way over. “hey luke, congrats man!” adam cheers, ever the gentleman. he gives luke a hug, a cheery smile on his face. 

adam can be so oblivious; it’s his most adorable quality. 

it takes luke a second to focus his attention on adam, almost as if he forgot this was his own wedding and he has hundreds of guests to consider. he is still glaring at hailey and everyone can see it. “oh, thanks man. i appreciate it,” he stutters out. then his eyes land on jay and his expression turns cold. “i guess congratulations are in order for you too.”

hailey suddenly pales, trying to grab jay’s attention with her glaring eyes. he looks confused. “me? oh, i mean, yeah i passed the bar and am now a successful lawyer but you don’t need to congratulate me,” he replies with a smirk, his right eyelid dropping in a wink.

luke just ignores him. “i can’t believe you finally got her, but i guess good for you, man.” there is a bitterness present in his voice and hailey wants to die. jay is awkwardly sharing a look with adam, who just shrugs. “just be careful, she likes to play with feelings,” luke stares right at hailey as he speaks, “don’t get too attached, is all i’m saying. she’ll ruin you.”

hailey’s mouth pops open. he shares one last look with jay before walking away, presumably to greet more guests. because it’s his wedding day and hailey can’t believe that just happened… on his wedding day! “okay, what the hell just happened?” jay asks, his focus returning to kim and hailey.

kim downs the remainder of her mimosa and hooks onto both adam and kevin’s elbows. “time for a refill, boys.”

jay looks to hailey expectantly, but she needs a minute. “i told him we’re together now because he—“ she almost laughs out of spite when she hears her voice breaking because there is no way in hell she is crying right now. “i’m sorry, it just came out,” she tries to give him an explanation but her voice is shaky and she can’t cry in front of this many people. “i have to go,” she mumbles.

it doesn’t matter that they are already outside, she needs to be somewhere else - anywhere else. she quickly drops her glass onto the tray of a server and bolts for the lobby, so she can find the women’s restroom.

“hailey, hold on, wait!”

of course jay follows her. he grabs her elbow when they are safely inside the hotel and examines her face when she won’t meet his eyes. he ducks his head, searching for her blue eyes that are slightly rimmed red.

“hailey,” he exclaims softly, his eyes twinkling in amusement. “there is no way in hell that douchebag is making you cry.”

hailey pushes herself away. “you didn’t hear the things he said to me,” she snaps angrily. “he talks about me like i’m worthless, like i never meant anything to him. who does that?” she watches his eyes turn sad. “why does he hate me so much?” she whispers, hastily wiping away her tears because luke is not ruining her makeup.

jay sends her a fond look. sometimes he overwhelms her with his ability to express his emotions so fiercely; it terrifies her. “screw what luke thinks, okay? he knows nothing; you’re amazing. you’re a freaking doctor!” jay is trying so hard to convey his feelings into his words because she is literally the most amazing woman he has ever met in his life. “you don’t need his approval; you don’t need him for shit. i know you - you’ve been ruining my life since high school, i can handle it,” he chuckles when she rolls her eyes; he can see the smile playing on her lips. “now, let’s go back in there so i can be the best damn boyfriend you’ve ever had.”

she stares at his outstretched hand and his ridiculously gorgeous grin and she knows without a doubt that he is going to ruin her too.

* * *

hailey prides herself on being a polite person. 

her job is literally to help people and treat them - she is a good person. so, for the life of her, she can’t understand the foul and awful feeling she is experiencing while watching the ceremony. in a sense, she knew there was no way she could take all of his earlier words lightly; they hurt and she would be remembering them for a long time. but that doesn’t mean she wishes luke the worst. but for whatever reason, she still feels hatred coursing through her veins.

jay is diligent and understanding of her every need. 

when they went back outside, kim had already explained the situation to adam and kevin and everyone is trying to make this situation as pleasant as possible for hailey. she greets familiar faces with jay playing the part of loyal boyfriend. he keeps asking her if it is okay when he does something, like place his arm around her shoulder or hold her hand, and it’s sweet but he should know by now, she doesn’t mind his touches. they sit down for the ceremony and hailey keeps her arm looped through his because he brings her comfort.

it’s odd to see luke so happy up at the alter, because he had just been so nasty earlier. he says his vows, he dons a new ring, kisses his wife, and then he’s walking down the aisle with a smile on his face that even with everything they had been through, had hailey smiling as well. jay squeezes her knee from where his hand is placed low on her thigh; he can see her smile and although, he doesn’t know exactly what she’s thinking, he’s glad she isn’t feeling upset anymore.

personally, he can’t understand why she allows luke to get underneath her skin as much as she does. but then again, he didn’t date the guy for years.

the rest of the afternoon proceeds nicely. the five of them are sat at a table together and are thoroughly enjoying each other’s company; they’re completely forgetting why they’re even there in the first place. but of course, luke took notice of how content they all look and is continuously glaring daggers in their direction. 

“i swear, if he keeps looking over here, i’m going to punch him in the throat. i don’t even care that it’s his wedding,” adam interrupts jay’s explanation of one of his court cases. adam is known for his short temper, but after kim filled him in on everything luke said to hailey, he can’t help himself. he’s always been protective of hailey and regardless of the tough exterior she exudes, he knows how much luke affects her. 

hailey snorts, unable to hide her smile. “as much as i’d love to see that, please don’t give him any more reasons to hate me.”

“i think we need a distraction,” kim interjects, desperate for a distraction from all the drama. the food and dessert had been amazing but now that the sun was setting, the music was picking up. twinkling lights were set up all around the dance floor and make-shift venue and it made for a very calm and beautiful ambience. if luke is too distracted to enjoy his own wedding, that’s not their problem and kim wants to avoid as many more confrontations as possible. 

“kev, that girl has been eying you all night,” hailey nudges him. everyone at the table instantly turns around to take a peak at who she’s talking about and hailey rolls her eyes at their lack of subtlety. 

adam widens his eyes. “wait, she looks familiar. do we know her?”

“she definitely went to high school with us,” jay adds, looking confused, “i just can’t pinpoint who she is.”

“that’s vanessa!” kim replies excitedly. “vanessa rojas! we had a few classes together and her locker was near mine too. she was super nice.”

kevin has always been a relatively quiet guy, but extremely attentive. hailey could tell just by how he was looking at her that he was definitely interested. “kev! go talk to her!”

“alright, alright,” kevin chuckles but follows her orders anyway. kim is next to drag adam onto the dance floor

hailey watches her two best friends and adds, “they’re cute; when is adam finally going to ask her out?”

jay turns to look at hailey with his face set in a fake-shock expression. “what are you talking about?”

“please, halstead,” she scoffs. “it’s quite obviously he’s in love with her and you’re obviously in on it.”

jay doesn’t try to argue; he just shrugs his shoulders. “yeah, he is.”

“if either of you could read women, you would see that she’s in love with him too and all this dancing around each other could be easily avoided.”

jay eyes her with a smirk. “professing your love for someone is harder than it sounds, hailey.”

his tone is insinuating and hailey isn’t sure why. “i don’t ever recall you professing your love for anyone, halstead, so why the tone?”

jay shrugs, a shy smile on his lips. “it’s happened.”

she is obviously curious but he doesn’t expand and she doesn’t press. instead, she stands and holds out a hand to an unsuspecting jay. “what are you doing?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

“come on, dance with me.”

jay has never seen hailey dance (unless you count drunken high school and college parties). 

“what?” he asks dumbly.

hailey rolls her eyes but she’s smiling. “jay, get off your ass and dance with me.”

“that was incredibly aggressive,” he sasses in response. naturally, hailey’s only course of action is to forcefully grab his hand and attempt to pull him out of his seat; it isn’t working. 

he finally gives in and she cheers adorably in victory. her laughter stops suddenly when jay crowds her space and pulls her body even closer to his. he’s staring to intensely into her eyes, she can’t move even if she wanted to. 

the moment is perfect - the lights are twinkling, the music is playing softly and the guests around them blur into the night. 

the moment is perfect, but the instant his eyes slide past her and see the fuming groom, he knows it can’t happen like this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone. hope you're enjoying!
> 
> stay safe xx


	3. chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is it folks, enjoy!!

all it takes is one look at luke's face and jay's spine straightens and he immediately flinches away from hailey's touch.

this isn't what he wants. it is what he wants; he wants to kiss her and he's wanted that for as long as he can remember, but not like this. not at her ex-boyfriend's wedding, while the said ex-boyfriend glares daggers.

jay sighs when he sees the flash of hurt in her eyes and his chest constricts. it was almost like he could feel the physical pain he was causing her and it sucked.

"i—i should get another drink," she stammers, doing her best to avoid his eyes.

hailey turns on her heels and makes a beeline for the bar. she bumps into adam on her way, but hardly even notices.

"what the hell?" adam frowns, when he reaches jay. "did luke do something again? i swear to g—"

jay shakes his head. "no, it was me."

"dude, what?" adam exclaims, his eyes mirroring his disappointment. "she looked really upset."

jay rubs a hand over his face and drops back into his chair. "fuck. i fucked it all up."

"what did you do?" adam asks curiously.

"i think we had a moment," jay mutters, his hands still covering his face. "and i don't know, she looked at me and i think she wanted me to kiss her. and it felt right," he can't stop talking now that he's started. "but then i saw luke right behind her and he looked pissed and i just couldn't."

adam shakes his head, snickering. "how does he manage to ruin everyone else's day on what's supposed to be the happiest day of his life?"

"and it's his wedding, right?" jay adds nervously; his eyes are searching for hailey but he can't spot her. "i shouldn't do anything dickish? like go for his ex?"

adam smirks, clapping jay on the back. "bro, _fuck_ that. i swear, if you don't get your shit together and go find her right now, i'm going to punch you in the throat."

jay's eyes widen slightly. "dude, it's his wedding day."

"exactly, _his_ wedding. which means he married someone else and he shouldn't be doing that unless he's completely over hailey," adam explains, shooting luke a nasty side eye. "and hailey is not just his ex, she's so much more than that, you know that. she's our best friend and she deserves happiness more than anyone i've ever known."

jay cracks a smile, "damn, ruzek. keep talking like that and i'm going to shed a tear."

adam rolls his eyes. "shut up and go find hailey, or else i actually will punch you in the throat."

"couldn't even if you tr—" jay is not proud of the violent flinch he displays as adam's fist nears his face, and how he nearly trips over his own feet trying to get away. he sees adam laugh and stop to talk to another member of their graduating class.

jay is halfway to the bar, but he still doesn't spot hailey. not that it matters because he is quickly intercepted by the groom.

"oh, for the love of god," jay mutters. "do you not have guests to greet or something?"

luke smirks at him. "all in due time, jay."

"what the hell does that even mean?" jay replies, looking around for any reinforcements; unfortunately, no one is available. "also, where's your wife? shouldn't you be with her?"

luke frowns slightly. "i have the rest of my life to be with her."

"oh, what a great attitude to have a happy marriage. freaking fantastic," jay mumbles sarcastically. "anyway, i was just on my way to the bar, so if you don't mind…"

"i do mind, actually," luke replies and jay considers the multiple ways he can incapacitate him without getting in trouble with the law. "i'm just having trouble understand how you and hailey got together."

jay tried to hold his tongue for the sake that it's his wedding, but he can't any longer; the sass has been unleashed. "are you having trouble comprehending the fact that she got over your dumb ass?"

however, luke doesn't seem phased. "no jay, you're understanding this wrong," he is still smirking and jay has never wanted to hit someone so much in his life. "trust me, i'm looking out for you. i don't think you're understanding what a piece of work hailey is."

jay's eyes narrow, because he can't understand if luke is just that stupid or wants to earn a black eye on his wedding day. "are you forgetting that i've been friends for hailey for years? like i truly don't understand what you're trying to do right now."

"being her friend is not the same as being in a committed relationship," luke remarks and his smirk suddenly drops. "although, i'm not sure how much you would know about that. you were a regular in the friend zone."

jay clenches his teeth together so he can think of an appropriate response and get the hell out of luke's presence. "thanks so much for your concern, but i'm fine. and hailey's happy, which is more than she can say for the time she spent with you. so please, go find your wife and treat her better than you did hailey."

* * *

hailey cannot get out of there fast enough. the abrupt change in jay's face and body language hit her straight in the chest and she can't even breathe. she hadn't thought she was reading the mood wrong, but apparently, she was way off. jay looked uncomfortable, and she is just absolutely mortified.

"i—i should get another drink," she mumbles and turns away quickly. she bumps into someone on her way to the bar but she keeps walking. she doesn't want to risk looking at anyone for fear that she'll start crying right there and then.

she almost laughs. how is she crying, again?

hailey decides the bar is definitely not the place for her to be right now and turns to go to the washrooms instead. the one thing actually working in her favour today is that it's empty and she can wallow in peace.

however, that is short lived too.

"hey, hails, there you are!" she knows it's was kim's voice before she even sees her. "i was wondering where you'd gone off t—" kim stops abruptly as she sees hailey hastily wiping away tears from her face. "hailey, what happened?" she is about to rush to her best friend's side but a stony glare overtakes her face. "was it luke? did he do something? i knew i shouldn't of left my knives at home."

kim is halfway out the door of the washrooms, until hailey pleads for her to come back. "no!" she blubbers, way past the point of caring that her voice is cracking. "it wasn't him."

"oh honey," kim frowns, wrapping an arm around her friend. "what happened?"

hailey laughs because it sounds so ridiculous in her head, it's going to sound even worse out loud. "jay and i were having a moment. i thought—i thought he was going to kiss me," she laughs bitterly. "god, i'm an idiot."

"what? no, you're definitely not the idiot here."

hailey wipes the last of her tears away; she's literally cried more today than she had in the past two years. "i don't know why i was thinking anything was there. it's been years; if something was supposed to happen, it would have already."

"are you kidding me, hailey?" kim demands in a tone that has hailey looking at her in shock and silence. "god, for people as smart as you two, i don't understand how you guys are so dumb."

hailey is still looking at her, as if she has two heads. "what?"

"jay has been in love with you since i can remember!" kim exclaims exasperatedly, as if this is common knowledge. "he looks at you like you're his whole world and seriously, i don't understand how it's been so long and you two still aren't together. adam and i are honestly exhausted of scheming against you two."

hailey furrows her eyebrows. "what?" she finds herself saying, again.

"god, i swear hailey," kim mumbles, shooting her a murderous glare. "none of this matters. what matters is that we're at your ex-boyfriend's wedding, who inconveniently has been paying a lot of attention to you. of course jay doesn't want to make a move on you now, not when luke is constantly over your shoulder!"

hailey blinks.

"shit."

"shit is right," kim grins, looking extremely self-satisfied. "now, let's go. you really need to talk to him and i really need a drink."

hailey nods numbly and allows kim to pull her out of the bathroom. "what do i say?" she asks in a panic. it's one thing thinking of this all in your head but having to actually articulate the words to his dumb, adorable face is completely different. he always gives her his full attention and it intimidates her.

"no, no," kim shakes her head, "i'm done. this is all you."

hailey nods, trying and failing to gather some confidence. she's a doctor for god's sake - this is nothing! yet, she still feels like she's going to throw up any second. it definitely doesn't help when she sees luke talking to an individual with their back towards her. and it certainly doesn't help when she realizes that individual is jay.

they are so engrossed in each other, luke doesn't even notice hailey approaching. "being her friend is not the same as being in a committed relationship. although, i'm not sure how much you would know about that. you were a regular in the friend zone."

hailey's jaw drops and she knows this is the final straw. fortunately, jay beats her to it.

"thanks so much for your concern, but i'm fine. and hailey's happy, which is more than she can say for the time she spent with you. so please, go find your wife and treat her better than you did hailey."

hailey's chest fills with affection for this man she should have given a chance ages ago. she knows, without a doubt, she loves him, and she has for longer than she cares to admit.

"alright," kim snaps, making both men turn around. jay has his jaw clenched but his eyes soften when he saw hailey; luke looks surprised, but keeps his eyes on kim. "this has gone on way too long and frankly, i'm pissed."

"i—" luke starts, but kim cuts him off.

"do not interrupt me! this is your wedding day, what the hell are you doing over here?" she asks in an accusatory tone, hands on her hips. "you and hailey didn't work out, and you have no right to get involved in her life now."

luke seems at a loss for words; there is nothing he could say. he takes one more final look at hailey and turns to make his way to the bar.

"god, finally," kim flipped her brown curls over her shoulder. "now, it's time for you two to have a talk." with that, she stalks off.

hailey can only hope she leaves to confess her love for adam because this confident, take charge attitude she has is really working for her.

jay grabs hailey's hand and leads her off to the side. "i'm so sorry, hails."

"god, don't be sorry," hailey shakes her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "it all makes sense now. it's my freaking ex's wedding, i'm sorry."

jay grins. "i tried so hard to be nice to him, i really did."

"jay, i don't want to talk about him anymore," she says slowly.

"well, we could talk about that," his smile widens as he points across the room, to where kim and adam are sharing a sweet kiss.

hailey smiles wide as the couple separates and glances in their direction. kim looks sheepish but adan is ecstatic. as hailey turns back to jay, he's giving adam the thumbs up.

"i don't want you to be my fake boyfriend anymore," hailey blurts out and she cringes. out of all the ways to phrase it, she has to say that?

jay's eyes look confused, "um, okay? i figured we were done playing pretend anyway, you know, considering…"

"no, that's not what i meant," hailey shakes her head and now she looks sheepish. "i want you," she whispers quietly; he moves closer. "you've been with me through every milestone, every important moment in my life. and the truth is, i love you," she is preparing for the worst but all she sees is his smile widen. "i've felt something for you since junior year but i've never felt something so intense; i didn't know what it was. but it's love and i love you, jay."

jay surges forward, capturing her face between his hands. this time, his eyes don't stray; he is completely and utterly consumed by her, and he kisses her. it's soft and slow and not nearly enough, but they have all the time in the world.

jay doesn't get the chance to say he loves her back, but she knows. it's in his eyes and in the way he holds her close to him.

adam and kim make their way over with gleeful smiles and glasses of champagne. "i think today deserves a toast," adam says, handing jay and hailey a glass.

"here's to our next chapter together," kim cheers, clinking her glass with the rest. for as long as she can remember, it has always been the four of them. they always defended each other, took care of each other, graduated together and moved away together. she can't imagine a greater group of friends than the ones she was blessed with, and this next chapter would only bring them closer together; it's how it should have always been. "god, i love you guys," she whispers, her eyes slightly watery as they cheer and huddle for a group hug.

this is a bit too emotional for their usual so it doesn't surprise anyone when jay makes his next comment.

"can you guys believe hailey used to date the groom? talk about an upgrade."

they all groan, but they can't deny it's the best damn wedding they've ever been to.

that is, until their own weddings, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yayy we've made it!
> 
> hope you guys liked it! wasn't written with hailey and jay in mind, but i hope i made it work!
> 
> please let me know what you thought :)
> 
> stay safe xx

**Author's Note:**

> hi hello.. i am back
> 
> WITH ANOTHER ALTERNATE UNIVERSE FICS
> 
> i really like writing these... however, i will be honest, i had originally written this fic as a stiles/lydia fic bc they're adorable and with some rewriting & editing, i was able to turn it into an upstead au!!
> 
> i know i sort of already did this kind of plot with upstead in another fic, but honestly, i LOVE fake relationships fics so i couldn't help myself. 
> 
> on the bright side, THIS WILL HAVE THREE PARTS and they're already written, so you won't have to wait for long!!
> 
> anyway, i hope you guys enjoyed this, i'll be back soo with the next part!!
> 
> stay safe xx


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